“King of the Ditch”

The model for this painting is the drainage ditch that connects my marsh shack property with Middle Creek in Engelhard, NC. Canals, pumps, and ditches dominate this area where rising water levels threaten fields and homes all year round. Humans try to manage things, but as soon as the construction equipment pulls away, the “little souls” move in to mediate and run the place. This ecological theme has been cropping up in my work more than usual recently. In this liminal space, elemental forces seek a new and viable equalibrium between land and water, but this drama is played out on a micro level… on every mudflat.